Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 September 2021
89. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Defence the number of females who have included family care issues among their stated reasons for seeking inter service transfers or discharge from the Naval Service over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45708/21]
View answerAn individual member of the Permanent Defence Force may be discharged for any one of the twenty-six prescribed reasons set out in Defence Force Regulations which cover various matters. Discharge citing family care issues is not included as a category type and is therefore not recorded.
However, some other measures have been introduced as a method of gaining further feedback and insight for the organisation. Exit interviews were introduced as part of the discharge process in March 2021. There has been one female member of the Naval Service who was interviewed upon discharge in the intervening period and family care issues were not cited in her reasons for leaving.
Online Exit Surveys were also introduced in May 2020. This survey contains a series of questions on a range of topics including; perceptions held in relation to the job, decisions for leaving the organisation, work life balance and discrimination. Of the 117 surveys completed in this time, 7% of the respondents were female (5% did note state gender). In terms of the Deputy's specific query on female members of the Naval Service who have discharged, one female member stated that working in the Naval Service was incompatible with having a family due to the requirement for sea going rotations.In respect of requests for transfers, I am advised by the Military Authorities that there is no requirement to state a specific reason for transfer owing to the fact that it may be of a personal nature, therefore the data requested by the Deputy is not available.
The Deputy may be aware that there are a number of facilities available to serving Defence Forces personnel in terms of work life supports. First and foremost Defence Forces members are entitled to maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, parents leave and term time in line with national legislation.
In addition a range of ‘harmony’ measures have also been implemented including ‘hot desking’ for certain enlisted and commissioned personnel who have been posted away from their home address, and remote working is considered for a limited number of personnel depending on the circumstances.
Additionally, I am advised that a number of family friendly overseas appointments for commissioned and enlisted personnel have been introduced whereby the normal 6-month tour of duty can be ‘shared’ with another member of the Defence Forces, resulting in a 3-month deployment. While this measure has been restricted as a result of the COVID pandemic, it is an acknowledgement of the importance of a family-friendly approach.
Personnel in the Defence Forces serving both at home and overseas have an array of supports available to them, including in-house medical teams, critical incident response teams, chaplaincy services and support services through the Personnel Support Service (PSS). The PSS operates within each installation of the Defence Forces and consists of a team of occupational social workers and trained military support personnel. The Department of Defence also provides an external confidential counselling service to all personnel.
The Naval Service has a Female Forum, for all ranks, that meets regularly to discuss female issues relevant to the Naval Service. Importantly it provides both support to females in the service and to develop a network to extend their support opportunities and enhance their Naval experience.
Finally, as the Deputy will be aware, the Independent Commission on the Defence Forces is currently examining a range of issues in the Defence Forces and its terms of reference encompass the setting out of a strategic perspective on HR policies and associated strategies.
